The Identity Politics of the Revolutionary SPLM/A Armed Struggle
6 min readBy Dut Lual Anei, Juba, South Sudan
October 3, 2016 (SSB) —- Through the revolutionary momentum of SPLM/A, many histories of the world have taught us various lessons of suffering, frustration, unjust feuds of recognitions crisis but still a victory day comes. Since the inception of the people’s movement in 1983(SPLM/A), the efforts to mobilizing communities’ support across the southern Sudan was not geo-political in its totality, identity politics was considered a factor derailing us from the attainment of the struggle for freedom but the opposite are the myths currently.
People from all walks of Southerner parts were either conscripted into the army, chose voluntarily to be active members or remain sympathetic to the SPLM/A and the ex-combatants of the Anya-Nya 1 & 2 movements were the cores for the experiences of the bush they had, already made them absolutely advantageous above anybody but neither did they based their participation on tribes, personalities and regions.
As bitter as the beginning was, songs were sung to bring together the spirit of “belonging” to the marginalized citizens of the victimized Southern Sudan and still fresh in our memories are the songs, riddles, proverbs and dances calling for popular support by joining the movement and praising the mighty efforts of the movement to liberating its people from the systemic segregation.
Equality of the numbers was not the basis for joining the movement but as long as other villages would categorically believe the struggle belongs to them then they will by choice decide to provide information to the movement or bravely declared their allegiance to the SPLA and that was not tribal, there was no targeting in southerner roads by the southerners themselves or otherwise maybe the regime puppets would do it with naive fight for acceptance, Southerners were rather hunted for their origins, religion, opinions and associations by the repressive regimes collectively.
Not only had they chose to have identity as Southerners but equally accepted to support each other’s, having chanted against biases that divide them, fight the equal course of marginalization, lack of services delivery, mental slavery instilled into their minds through inferiority classification imposed against them by the clever few, though against God’s creation. We fell and rose together to the realization of the Naivasha peace accord of 2005.
Many perished before they could witness the beautiful republic of south Sudan as a matter of jubilations, rejoicing and in disbelief ended up dying leaving the beautiful motherland to the next generation, where creed bounded them together which led to the subsequent declaration of the Republic of South Sudan on the ninth of July, 2011.
The task of wanting to be free, have self-governance and have a nation where our founding fathers, mothers have sacrificed to see that, the next generation don’t bleed again was attained, sadly we didn’t know ourselves in terms of gender, economic status, tribe or region yet it was a time bomb awaiting its explosion but by far more dangerous than just fighting an uncle who for the sake of movement’s obligations had to give your name to the chief to later forward it to the SPLA as a family contribution to the movement then.
Many families would start to cry, for being a soldier was equated to a moving corps but still Southerners stood by the movement’s call for total rejection of oppression within their own land, enormous resources being selfishly shared but benched their suffering to a potential of a prosperous state to be theirs.
After the independence in 2011, many had hoped to be one again but we didn’t projected that a domestic dispute brewed by the participants involved and misguided would take us thousands miles to mend. If SPLM/A was supposed to be a human being, it would have been deceased or hospitalized for stress caused by her sons and daughters who deserted their immediate calls.
Many wars have been fought before and after the independence but the painful conclusions have been drawn to be governance crisis albeit coded to achieve personal course of action but the truth of the matter is:
- Creation of a dynasty by some chameleons who have taken people’s life lightly to mean their satisfaction, stability of the security and economy as a perception was no logic
- Taking South Sudan as a Personal property that someone can wage a war against or conspired with the enemy to be given power as a sacrificial lamb or else a loud noise is heard calling for public attention to sugar-coat the cy to mean the house inflames
- Lacks of acceptance of personal responsibility to contribute to the welfare of the state and nurtured skills, professionalism to change the shape of our society as a whole but insists on being a politician of all seasons of foods and luxuries
- Inciting tribes against each other’s in order to climb to power, create an anarchy of rebellions and perpetrate intolerable crimes which even during our struggle against Khartoum based regimes have never been done unto ourselves.
- Working on the clock to see that a recreation of the South Sudanese ethnicities is achieved through deceptions, hotel rebellions and war propaganda.
Base on my above opinions, my conviction is that, the only tool to peace, unity, stability and prosperity for South Sudanese and South Sudan as a state, is SPLM, where our collective identities are reflected within its founding principles rather than the tribal based political parties formed within the clan and popular within the vicinity of the same clan, but only mere projects meant for cultivating fame, practice of retailing politics where people are seen in terms of votes for the supposed to be the next elections rather than the humans who deserved peaceful co-existence.
My analysis is that, till “we sit, eat, disagree, fight and come back together” to the table of brotherhood or sisterhood which is only through SPLM, then we will be living in a chaotic political settings where backgrounds and personalities are the pillars for further destruction.
For queries, do contact me through duticanei@gmail.com or +211912650097
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